Poisonous Recollections
by Pepper1622
Summary: During a brief but dreaded visit to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Ron and Harry stumble upon the pages of a story recalling traumatizing events from their second year. Together with Hermione, Ginny, and the Weasley twins, Harry and Ron face their hardest memories with the support of the people they love. Character's Read of Takara Ravenheart's fanfic "The Serpent's Trap". Harry/Ron
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **_**Hi everyone! Wow, I haven't written anything for a long while now! But oh well. Life happens, and I've been crazy busy. However, when Takara Ravenheart contacted me asking for a Character's Read, well, I found myself accepting! I thought this would take me forever to write because of my writer's block issues, but it only took like a little over a week, which isn't . . . too bad, I guess. But it's been really fun to write, and I'm glad I'm writing it!**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, especially Takara! The main ship with be Harry/Ron; Takara and I are not sure about future ships, so you'll just have to wait and see! Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, anything relating to that world, or Takara Ravenheart's story. Only the Character's Read is mine. And I do not own the cover art for this story either.  
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><p>The last place Harry and Ron wanted to return to was the girl's bathroom that the notoriously miserable Moaning Myrtle inhabited. It was bad enough having to frolic around in a lavatory meant for girls; having Myrtle sniveling down their necks sent both spasms of chills and wretches that would rack their bodies violently.<p>

Although they both protested heatedly with Hermione, they knew it was a hopeless endeavor. Once Hermione made up her mind on something, it was immensely challenging to persuade her against her plot. Sometimes such a trait was honorable and impressive; other times, such as this, it was downright infuriating.

"I don't see why we have to come with you, Hermione," Ron complained, trudging after her. He seemed to be trying to convey a sense of rebellion to Hermione's instruction by his rather sluggish gait, but his lanky frame and flapping robes gave him the demeanor of none other than a confused Sasquatch.

Harry, who had his pouting face trained on the dragging of his feet, heard Hermione say from in front of him, "You know perfectly well why I've brought you boys along. I'm not facing _her_ alone, and I most certainly will not leave until I've gotten back the missing page from my book."

Groaning, Ron protested, "It's been three years, Hermione! Someone's bound to have found the page by now! It's probably long gone!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised at how many people in this school have an aversion to anything academic. You and Harry aren't the only slackers attending Hogwarts."

Harry whipped his head up to glare at the back of Hermione's bushy-haired head. "Hey, I'm not a slacker! Compared to you, everyone's an illiterate caveman!"

Ron burst out laughing and bumped shoulders with Harry, something that caused him to beam with pride.

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult," Hermione muttered, but before Harry could expound on his comment, they were at Myrtle's bathroom, and Hermione had pushed open the door with forced confidence.

Myrtle's low sobs echoed inside one of the stalls, acting as the bathroom's signature soundtrack. Hermione tiptoed gently past her cubicle, steadying her breathing to avoid interrupting Myrtle's state of mourning. As Hermione dipped her head under stalls and around stain-splattered toilets, Harry and Ron ambled over to the sinks, where the entrance to the infamously menacing Chamber of Secrets dwelled.

Pretending to be searching, the boys ducked under the sinks and inspected the pipes, furrowing their eyebrows for added effect. Thankfully, Hermione was too distracted to look at them for more than a second, so every glance she stole showed her two very dedicated, hardworking boys.

When Ron was checking the sink that held the entrance to the Chamber, running his long fingers over the eerie snake engraving on the side, he spied what looked to be the corner of a piece of parchment poking out of the edge of the mirror.

Highly doubting that he'd found the page Hermione was searching for, Ron hesitantly pinched the parchment and gave a small tug. It didn't rip, for which Ron was very grateful, but it barely budged. Harry had just then noticed Ron's strange change in enthusiasm and went to see what the distraction was.

Not wanting to speak for fear of upsetting Myrtle, Ron pointed out the page and motioned for Harry to help him remove the mirror. Looking skeptical, Harry pressed his lips tight together and proceeded to wedge his fingers beneath one side of the mirror, Ron following suit.

With surprising quietness, they managed to pry the mirror off the wall; to their astonishment, not just one page fell out, but a whole large wad of them, showering down onto the damp floor.

Myrtle's wails froze abruptly. Over in the corner on the other side of the bathroom, Hermione shot the boys a threatening glare; a worn page was being crumpled in her clenched fist.

Gathering the pages as fast as possible, Ron and Harry made haste to follow Hermione out of the lavatory, where Myrtle had struck up a chorus of newly enraged shrieks and curses to accompany the pieces of pipes she had just hurled their way.

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><p>"That was a bloody pain," Ron grumbled as he plopped down into one of the more comfortable chairs in the common room, the pieces of parchment he had gathered resting on his lap.<p>

"Well, at least I got my page back," Hermione said from the chair opposite Ron's. "And you found something worth looking into, so it wasn't a total waste, was it?"

Harry shrugged from his spot on the couch next to Ron. "You've got a point there, Hermione. What are the pages for, Ron? Does it say?"

"Does what say?" interrupted a voice coming from the portrait hole. Ginny Weasley was beaming at the trio, flanked by the equally jovial Weasley twins.

"Finally cheating on your homework, Ron?" Fred asked with a wide smirk, ignoring Hermione's scandalized expression. "I mean, copying Hermione is always a safe bet, but there's nothing like reusing a prefect's old essays."

Hermione turned more crimson than the Weasleys' hair. "How dare you—"

"Relax, Hermione," George interrupted, joining Fred and Harry on the couch. "We're only joking. We wouldn't expect Ron to tarnish his pretty prefects' badge with a bad record, now would we?"

As Ron's face mimicked the color of Hermione's, Ginny came to his defense.

"Lay off him, guys," she insisted, smiling in spite of herself and sitting on the arm of Ron's chair. "Anyways, Ron, what've you got there?"

"You guys are never gonna believe this," Ron murmured; he had been skimming over the pages while the others made their entrance. "But I think these pages are a recollection of events from our second year."

"_What_?" everyone said together, looking dumbfounded.

"Why would someone write about stuff that happened three years ago?" Harry questioned.

Ron shrugged. "No idea. But the title says, '_The Serpent's Trap by Takara Ravenheart'. _What do you think this is all about?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out, obviously," Fred said, nodding at Ron. "Go on, read it, then."

And so Ron did.

**Chapter One: Only One Who Understands You**

"Sounds mysterious," snickered George.

"Sounds romantic," giggled Ginny.

"Shut _up_," snapped Ron.

**Ron looked around, bewildered at how bad the toilet looked and went forward to search around the fallen equipment along with Harry.**

"I would normally wonder why you and Harry are creeping around dirty bathroom stalls," Fred said, "but that answer's fairly obvious."

"_What_?!" they both shrieked, blushing fiercely.

Fred chuckled. "Calm down. You were both drawn by a most compelling, almighty force . . ." He nodded at George to continue.

"Mischief," he finished. "A most noble calling."

Hermione groaned. "You two are unbelievable."

"Why, thank you, Hermione." George placed his hand on his heart. "That means so much."

"I repeat myself—shut up!" Ron hissed.

Everyone went silent.

**He got a hold of a battered looking diary. As soon as he grabbed it, a strange feeling circulated him, as if something were physically crushing his heart.**

"Aww, Ron," cooed Ginny, "that's the same feeling you get when Fleur rejects you!"

The group laughed for a good while after that, save for Ron, who flushed and grimaced until everyone had caught their breath again.

**"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked.**

**Ron snapped out of his thoughts, seeing Harry look up from his searching as well to look at him.**

**"Y-yeah I'm fine," Ron said. "I found this diary." He held it out. "There's something strange about it."**

"You always were especially observant, Ron," Harry teased, prodding Ron on the shoulder.

For once, Ron didn't seem too annoyed at the jest; he just muttered, "Whatever," and resumed reading.

**Harry reached out to it but Hermione made an alarmed squeak.**

**"Harry, I don't think you should touch that," Hermione said and Ron noticed she looked very alarmed.**

**Harry looked puzzled. "Why? It's just a diary."**

Hermione crossed her arms and gave Harry a pointed look.

"There are two lessons to learn from this experience," she said. "One, that you never touch suspicious mysterious objects found in Hogwarts, and two, that I'm _never_ wrong."

The group—minus Ginny—erupted into a small shouting match that sometimes the boys could be right when Hermione was wrong; but, as Ginny pointed out, since none of them was able to recall a time that such an event had occurred, her point was only proven more firmly.

**"Someone tried to get rid of it," Ron said, looking around at the mess again. "I'll ask Percy or the twins, they'd know more than I would, mate."**

"That's so true." Fred grinned. "Except for the Percy part—the big git can shove his so-called knowledge up his—"

"Fred!" Hermione squealed, cutting him off in the nick of time as two curious-looking first years passed by on their way to the dormitories.

The rest of the gang had to suppress giggles; Ron was still snickering as he continued to read.

**Harry nodded. "Okay, just be careful ok?"**

**Ron smiled, shrugging. "I'll be fine."**

**...**

**That afternoon, despite Hermione's warnings earlier and Harry's worry about him, Ron opened the diary. It was a diary, what harm could it do?**

Everyone snorted simultaneously.

"Shut up," Ron mumbled.

_**Ron, it could do plenty of harm, put it down and go ask your brothers**_**Hermione's voice scolded in his head.**

_**Ron, be careful ok?**_**Harry's concerned face floated at the back of his mind.**

"Isn't that cute," George said. "Harry and Hermione are Ron's guardian angels."

Fred and Ginny laughed; Harry and Hermione just looked confused whether to laugh or roll their eyes. Ron chose to do the latter.

**His friends, mostly Hermione were worried about the diary. Hermione was the brightest witch of her age, Harry was pretty smart too, at least in his opinion. If both his smarter best friends were advising against it, he should listen right? However, before he could close the book, writing began to appear. **_**Hello Ronald Weasley, I am Tom Marvolo Riddle.**_

Harry shook his head. "You were doing so well, Ron. You were _this close_"—he held his thumb and index finger close together—"to avoiding everything."

Ron just shrugged.

"You were _so close_, Ronald," the twins echoed, shaking their heads.

"Shut up!" Ron snapped yet again.

"How come Harry can say it but we can't?" Fred demanded; George looked equally vexed.

Flustered, Ron just hissed another "Shut up!" and went back to reading.

**Ron stared for a moment at blankly at the diary. It had written itself! Not to mention, it had written his name. Without thinking more on it, he wrote what was on his mind.**

"Not a word!" Ron seethed as everyone opened their mouths to chastise his naïveté.

"Real clever," George mouthed, earning smiles from the group.

_**Hi Tom. How do you know my name? I mean, you're a book and this is bloody confusing.**_

**As soon as Ron wrote the text, it disappeared causing the redhead to blink. He had never seen anything like this. It was brilliant. Either he was losing his mind or a book was talking to him by name. This was messed up however he drummed his fingers, wishing the reply would just hurry up and appear in front of him.**

"I have to admit, I'd be pretty curious too if I found a diary like that," Ginny said.

"Yeah, but I doubt you'd keep it for long," Hermione chimed. "Keeping a diary doesn't really seem like something you'd get into."

Everyone chuckled to think of Ginny keeping and confiding in an enchanted diary. As if _that _would ever happen.

_**I'm not a book. I am a memory of a person locked inside this book. I have been trying to reach you for awhile.**_

"That's not creepy at all," George mumbled.

_**Why me? I mean, I'm nothing special. That's Harry, he's the Boy Who Lived or Hermione, she's really smart.**_

"You are special!" Harry and Hermione shouted.

"Uh, thanks, guys." Ron sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

_**I disagree with that. I think you're more special than them both. You have a stronger heart, a stronger sense of loyalty. Yet, still no one ever sees that. Not even them.**_

"We do!" they shouted.

_**That isn't true! Harry and Hermione appreciate me.**_

"We do!" they repeated.

"I get the idea, you two," Ron said as Ginny and the twins withheld snickers.

_**Do they? They always look to one another for answers. You're not smart enough to help them plan. The third member, the sideling, the unneeded one, that's all they think. And your mother, who was so disappointed at your birth. Wanting a little girl instead.**_

"That's not true!" the Weasleys piped in, taking their turn to assure Ron of the diary's lies.

Ron just nodded, his face tense.

**Ron felt his hands tremble as he tried to close the diary but it wouldn't close. This wasn't true. He needed to throw this diary away. He couldn't listen. Images of Harry and Hermione laughing together, being happy while he was no where. He saw Hermione assisting Harry with his homework, brushing him off to talk to Harry. The images then changed to his mother, holding Ginny close, whispering and gushing about how proud she was, laughing at the twins, praising Percy for being the perfect son he was. But where was he? He wasn't anywhere on that list. Maybe...maybe Tom was right. Maybe he was unneeded.**

"You are not unneeded," Ginny assured him, wrapping him in a small hug. "We all love and appreciate you, Ron, no matter what."

The gang all nodded, even the twins, who looked sincere for once.

Beaming, Ron said, "Thanks, everyone. It really does mean a lot."

"Don't get all sappy on us," Fred teased. "C'mon, keep reading. I'm curious."

_**You are unneeded by them. But I can understand you. I can give you the recognition you so desperately desire. **_**I** _**can give you power to be loved, to be feared. I **_**understand **_**how you feel. Been there once myself.**_

"Voldemort's so dramatic," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

The others laughed at the same time as they cringed at the mention of his name; the result was a very weird sequence of uncomfortable expressions.

**Ron exhaled at those words. They didn't disappear. At least, they didn't disappear from his head even if they didn't from the diary. He wanted his mother to see him, not Ginny, not Fred, not George, not anyone else! Him. It was wrong.**

"Love you too, Ron," George grumbled.

"Uh, sorry," Ron said awkwardly.

**'This could all be a trick, turn back now' he could hear Hermione saying in his head.**

**'Ron, don't listen, you're my best friend, you're the most important, don't give in' Harry's strong but firm voice revolved around his head.**

"Always right," Hermione reminded them.

As they groaned, Harry added, "Well I helped too. That was some pretty deep stuff coming from my imaginary self."

Ron nodded. "Very true."

**He almost listened to his friend's voices when those images returned. Harry and Hermione laughing together, having fun together in a place where he didn't belong. His heart clenched. Which was the truth and which was the lie? He didn't know what to think. Who to believe. Harry had been so concerned for him when he had been about to sacrifice himself in the Chess game and Hermione looked near tears.**

"Good point," Hermione commented.

_**Just an act. Give me control of you, your mind, everything and I'll make things better. I'll do what a**_real_**friend should do.**_

**Ron closed his eyes. His mind wavered a little, thinking of his friends but the thought that they'd be better off without him, the thought that his mother would be happier if he had never been born, pierced through his heart as if someone had cast the world's most painful curse on him. Unable to handle this pain, he wrote back.**

_**Take control. Take it.**_

No one bothered to make jokes now. Ginny and Hermione both had their hands over their mouths; Harry was looking away with a pained air about him; and the twins had gone a shade paler. Ron fidgeted with the papers, appearing a bit guilty.

**It was almost as if he had signed some sort of contract then as a dark feeling enveloped inside him and the redhead felt as if he were going to puke. His heart seared with more pain then ever as it felt like he was being bitten repeatedly all over. Then just as suddenly as the pain had come, it ebbed and a numb feeling enveloped his mind, darkness pulling him in and he knew no more.**

The group all let out the collected sigh of breath that they'd been holding since the mention of Ron giving up control.

As Ron nervously lifted his head to his friends and siblings, they did something most unexpected: Everyone, even the twins, got up and hugged him tightly, all murmuring words of affirmation and relief that he was with them now.

Finally, everyone broke apart and sighed again, acting as one entity of a sort.

"Well," Hermione said, breaking the silence, "I suppose it's time for bed." With that, she and Ginny gave Ron two more hugs and scurried out of sight.

Fred and George rose to leave as well.

"Don't expect any hugs from us," George said, stretching along with Fred.

"But maybe you can convince Harry to go in for another one before bed," Fred continued. "I'm sure that'll brighten up this lovely night for both of you."

Harry and Ron both blushed terribly dark and looked away from each other, wildly uncomfortable.

While the twins were ascending the stairs to their dormitory, Ron, fuming, threw a pillow after them and shouted, "For the love of Merlin, will you two ever just _SHUT UP_?!"

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><p><strong>I hope everyone liked it! I apologize if it got confusing telling the difference between Tom's words and Ron's when they wrote in the diary; I didn't really have any alternatives to use to specify, so . . . sorry.<strong>

**So I'll update as soon as I can once Takara updates! And I'm a beta-reader if anyone needs one; I'm much quicker at beta-reading than doing Character's Reads. Speaking of which, I already have another person who's asked for a Character's Read, so I'm sorry to say I'm just sticking with Takara and this other author for now. So if you want one, I'd recommend asking someone else, unless you don't mind waiting for a _long _time. **

**Again, hope you enjoyed! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **_**Sorry to Takara Ravenheart for the long wait! Obviously, I get distracted very easily . . . anyway, enjoy chapter 2!**

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><p>The following day at breakfast, Hermione requested the group reconvene to read the next section of the story. Surprised, both Harry and Ron froze mid-bite, and a piece of Ron's egg slipped rather sloppily off his fork.<p>

"Well don't act all startled," Hermione huffed, wiping yolk off her robes and offering Ron a napkin to follow suit. "I thought we all shared the understanding that the story held our interest."

"You know," Harry said, "I think you just can't stand not reading at your own superhuman pace, so you want us all to come to your level and get it finished as soon as possible."

Ron's eyes widened in understanding. "Is that what you're rushing us for, Hermione? Geez, you'd think you'd accommodate the majority, especially me."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione said, "Why you especially?"

"Because I'm the star of the story."

"I'm not sure that's something to brag about, as the story doesn't paint you in the most pleasant light." Hermione smirked.

Ron opened his mouth to argue and turned toward Harry for support, but his companion just shrugged.

"Sorry, Ron, she's kind of right," Harry admitted, stuffing toast in his mouth to avoid further conversation.

As Hermione continued to smirk at the grimacing Ron, Ginny strolled over and helped herself to a piece of bacon.

"Morning, everyone," she greeted, beaming at the slightly tense group.

They all echoed her greeting, prompting Ginny to ask, "So when are we gonna read the next part of the story?"

"Why are you girls so interested in reading it?" Ron grumbled, greedily stuffing his mouth with sausage.

"It's not just the girls," a voice cut in before the others could reply. Fred and George sat themselves down next to Ginny and began loading their plates cheerfully.

"Yeah, we're awful fond of the stories too," George added, wagging his fork at Ron for emphasis.

Fred nodded pleasantly. "Say, we should all gather together at the lakeside and read after breakfast again, since we're all so eager!"

"Uh, well, you see," Ron stammered, "we all have class, and there just won't be enough time today with homework and . . . stuff."

"That's okay, Ron." George lifted his goblet of pumpkin juice to his mouth, his bright brown eyes glinting over the cup's rim. "Good thing it's Saturday."

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><p>The group congregated near a large tree on the lakeside and made themselves comfortable: Fred and George lay on their backs and idly waved their wands, taking cloud-watching to a whole new level as they formed their own shapes with their magic-made vapors; the girls sat back-to-back, Ginny leaning over Ron's shoulder again to read and Hermione scribbling away on some extra credit assignments; and Ron and Harry leaned against the tree, the former rifling through the papers of the story a bit.<p>

"Well, get on with it, Ron," Fred urged, feeding a cloud-carrot to George's cloud-bunny.

Shooting a glare at his brother, Ron proceeded to clear his throat and read the second chapter's title:

**Chapter Two: The Chamber of Secrets**

"The Chamber seems to be popping up a lot lately," Harry said. "We found the pages of the story at the Chamber's entrance, and the story itself focuses on it a lot. That can't have been a coincidence."

Everyone shrugged; Hermione was tapping her quill against her parchment, deep in thought, as Ron began to read.

**Harry was worried. For the first time, when things were going wrong, his two best friends weren't around to help him. Hermione had been petrified and was in the Hospital Wing and Ron…he didn't know what was wrong with his best friend. Everytime he saw him, he would flee from the room. **

"This should be interesting," Hermione broke in. "I've always wondered what happened when I was petrified."

"I'm more interested in Ron 'fleeing from the room,'" Fred said with a chuckle. "Even when you've given over control, you're a drama queen."

Ron made a growling sound that was drowned out by George's and Ginny's snickers.

**Right now, Harry was walking through the corridors and entered the Great Hall. Harry's gaze hurriedly swept over the room, searching for the red-haired boy that he had befriended that very first day. **

"Aww, Harry, I'm glad you thought of me!" George grinned up at Harry, who laughed.

"He was talking about me, you idiot!" Ron snapped, but his mouth was threatening to allow a smile.

**He didn't see him.**

"That was blunt," Ginny said, earning snorts from her companions.

**He saw the other Weasleys; Ginny, and her older brothers.**

"The real stars have made their appearance!" Fred said gleefully, waving his wand to form his name in a messily drawn cloud-star.

"You wish!" Ron said, laughing to show his pride in being the actual protagonist of sorts of the story.

**But Ron wasn't in their midst. A sinking feeling filled inside his stomach as if something was horribly wrong. **_**It's just bad intuition, that's all. Ron's fine, he's fine.**_

"Look at that, Hermione." Harry curled around the back side of the tree to poke Hermione's shoulder. "Maybe Harry Potter's intuition is more reliable than the always-right Hermione Granger's."

She sighed in response and didn't bother lifting her eyes from her parchment. "Please, I was petrified. My intuition is just as effective as yours."

Harry huffed a bit and sat back next to Ron.

**He opened his mouth to ask Ginny or the twins where Ron was but before he could, Mcgonagall's worried voice filled the halls.**

**Harry sighed, gritting his teeth, but let his eyes wander up to McGonagall, who rose to her feet with a grim expression on her visage. **

"**Silence, please," she spoke, addressing the murmurs that still rippled through the Hall. They fell quiet.**

"I've always loved how McGonagall's presence can even shut up the Slytherins," Fred remarked.

George nodded. "She may have given us a lot of detentions, but the woman has our respect."

"**I'm sure you are wondering why you've been called here. All of you is aware of what has been happening lately, with our students. We have confirmed what is happening, and I am afraid the situation has become even more dire." **

**She paused as more whispers bloomed.**

"**The Chamber of Secrets has been opened," McGonagall continued. She ignored the whispers this time. "And one of our students has been taken."**

**Her gaze landed briefly on the Weasleys and Harry. **

**Harry felt the twins stiffen besides him and Ginny let out an alarmed cry, looking like she was going to faint. **

"**Ronald Weasley has been taken into the Chamber."**

"That was an awful moment," Ginny murmured. "We were all terrified."

"It's true," Fred agreed. "We might not make it annoyingly obvious, but we all care about you, dear Ronald.

Ron blushed a bit and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh . . . thanks?"

**Harry had to keep himself from shouting. It couldn't be true. Then, he remembered the diary. **_**Oh, Ron, you git. You should have listened to us…**_

"Told you," Hermione muttered from her side of the tree.

"Shut up," Ron grumbled back.

**It wasn't like Ron to look at an object that Hermione had claimed was dangerous but then again, they should have never left him alone with it. What if it had done something to him? But it was a diary…this was confusing. Honestly, with Hermione around to explain things, everything was always a lot easier but now, he felt lost.**

"I will admit," Ron began, "things _are_ easier when you're around."

Harry nodded. "It's true."

Hermione swelled with pride, but kept her smiling face focused on her work.

**Ron was in the Chamber in god knows what condition…what if Ron was…? No, he can't be. Harry mentally scolded himself for thinking that but couldn't help the foreboding feeling in his chest. But no, not Ron too, he didn't want to lose Ron as well. **

**Maybe it was his fault. Maybe if he hadn't been Ron's best friend, Ron wouldn't have been targeted. **

"Harry, why would you ever blame yourself?" Ron shouted, aghast. "I was the git, not you!"

"It's sort of understandable, though," Harry said quietly. "I mean, you'd probably be fine if we never—"

"I'd rather have you in my life and deal with the risks than the other way around," Ron said firmly.

". . . how touching. What a tender moment," cooed Fred.

Both boys blushed; Ron hurried to keep reading.

**Maybe if he had forced Ron to give him the diary, then everything would be okay. For god's sake, Ron had a family. Molly Weasley would be in tears if anything happened to him. No, nothing could happen. He would make sure nothing did. **

"Always so brave, Harry," George remarked, grinning at the other boy, who returned the expression.

**Ginny rushed over to him. "Did Ron find the diary?" **

**Harry blinked at her, hope surging in his chest. "Yeah, he did. Why? Do you know something about that diary, Ginny?" If she knew, maybe she could help him find Ron. He had to find him no matter what. He needed to save him, who knew what condition his best friend was in right now?**

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't very pleasant . . ." Ron muttered.

"**Do you guys know why Ron's been…" George's voice was quiet and almost guilt-ridden. Harry realized the twins were more somber than he had ever seen them. **

"See, we do care!" George made a point to say.

"Yes, that's been established," Ron said.

**Not that Harry could blame them. No matter how Ron thought and despite the fact their dynamic was a bit strange, he was still their baby brother.**

"HA!" the twins shouted in prideful unison.

"**Tom Riddle's dragged him down to the Chamber," Ginny said anxiously looking to Harry and the twins. "It uses a person's worst fears against them and feeds on those weaknesses."**

Everyone shuddered and frowned at their laps, save for the twins, who directed their faces to the sky.

**Harry paled, hearing that. Worst fears? He knew Ron was scared of spiders but was that enough to weaken him so Tom Riddle to drag him down to the Chamber. His thoughts drifted back to first year and what Ron had told him.**

"_**I see myself becoming Head Boy," Ron had said. "Mum is really proud of me, says I'm better. She's happy with me."**_

Strangely, the twins didn't make a remark; they knit their eyebrows and stole glances at each other, communicating with eye contact the way twins do. Ron waited for their comments, but when none came, he slowly went back to reading.

**Harry knew then, remembering that. Spiders weren't Ron's worst fear, but it wasn't that which Tom Riddle was feeding upon. **

"That's such a gross way of putting it," Hermione said, repulsed.

**His worst fear was being left behind, not only with his family but with the two of them as well. Hermione was the brightest witch of her age and Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived. Both of them got a lot of attention around Hogwarts because of that. Not that he at least wanted the attention. Hermione certainly enjoyed being called the brightest witch of her age, but even she cared for Ron more than anything. **

"Sure," Ron muttered sarcastically.

"It's true, you know," Hermione said suddenly, putting down her work and turning to Ron. "It may not seem like it, but I actually do value you more than my academic standing. Sorry to ruin your image of me being a heartless know-it-all."

She tried to turn away, quite obviously hurt, but Ron put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Thanks, Hermione," he said sincerely, locking their eyes. "I was just joking, but it does mean a lot. And I may not act like it, but I think you're amazing—everyone here does."

The group piped up with their affirmation, so again Hermione blushed and shied away back to her work.

Smiling at his good deed, Ron continued with the story.

_**There are things he can do that Hermione and I can't **_**Harry thought. **_**I'm not going to let him thing otherwise. **_

"Like what?" Ron asked eagerly.

"You've got to keep reading to find out," Harry teased, directing Ron's head back to the story.

"**Ginny, can you come with me to the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked the youngest Weasley. **

**Both the twins burst out into protests at that but Harry raised a hand.**

"**I know you don't want Ginny to come," He said quietly. "But right now, if she doesn't help me, you might as well as be choosing between Ron and Ginny." He looked both Fred and George in the eye. "So tell me, who do you choose out of them? To save Ron's life or to protect Ginny?"**

"Harry has quite a way with words." Ginny laughed.

"George and I were shocked at how blunt he was," Fred added with a smile. "It really made us think."

**Fred and George spluttered, for once looking as if they were struck between indignation and protest. Ginny spoke before either of them could say anything. **

"**I'll come with you," Ginny said, sounding stronger than Harry had ever heard from her. "Fred, George, that diary contacted me first. Tom Riddle spoke to me first. I know how he works. It's dangerous. He's dangerous. But Ron's our brother. Our precious family. Why don't we all go with Harry?"**

"That's very clever of you, Ginny!" Hermione commended, patting her friend's shoulder. Everyone nodded in well-deserved agreement.

**Fred stared at her. "Ginny…"**

**George smiled a little. "That's a good idea actually."**

**Fred nodded. "Harry, we're coming too."**

**Harry stared at the three Weasleys, his face breaking out into a small smile. "Okay. Ron would be happy to know that."**

"Damn right," Ron proclaimed, gathering up the papers to signify the conclusion of that section.

Fred stretched out and sat up. "Glad that chapter ended on a more upbeat note."

"So . . . now what?" George asked, still lying on the ground.

"Can't we just stay here?" Ginny piped up. "It's so nice out, and honestly, we should celebrate just being together."

The group all agreed and made themselves comfortable again.

As Ron watched Fred and George battle a cloud-bear with a cloud-leopard of their own making, Hermione bustling over her work with that faraway look she always got when she was focused, Ginny using her wand to braid flower crowns and jewelry, and Harry beginning to nap under the tree's shade, all he could think was:

_I'm so freaking glad I'm back._


End file.
